Despite the fact that California has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, the US Department of Justice predicts that Californians will purchase 725,000 rifles, pistols and shotguns in 2012, which is nearly twice the number they purchased five years ago -- when 370,628 were bought, says the SF Gate.

However, California gun laws do require the registration of handguns, and will also mandate record-keeping on rifles and shotguns sold in the state beginning in 2014, reports Voice of America. The state bans the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips and military-style assault rifles to the public. We also have a 10-day waiting period for the purchase of firearms. Furthermore, while some states do not restrict online firearms and ammunition sales, California requires that all purchases must be made through a registered dealer.

on March 30, 1981, President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded in an assassination attempt by John Hinckley, Jr. outside the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Reagan's press secretary, Jim Brady, was shot in the head.

The Brady Handgun Violence Act of 1993, signed into law by President Bill Clinton, mandated that federally licensed dealers complete comprehensive background checks on individuals before selling them a gun. The legislation was named for James Brady, who was shot during an attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981.

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994, instituted a ban on 19 kinds of assault weapons, including Uzis and AK-47s. The crime bill also banned the possession of magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition. (An exemption was made for weapons and magazines manufactured prior to the ban.)

In 2004, ten years after it first became law, Congress allowed a provision banning possession of magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition to expire through a sunset provision. Brady Campaign President Paul Helmke told HuffPost that the expiration of this provision meant that Rep. Gabby Giffords's alleged shooter was able to fire off 20-plus shots without reloading (under the former law he would have had only ten).

In 2007 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled to allow Dick Heller, a licensed District police officer, to keep a handgun in his home in Washington, D.C. Following that ruling, the defendants petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

Following the deadly shooting at Virginia Tech University, Congress passed legislation to require states provide data on mentally unsound individuals to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, with the aim of halting gun purchases by the mentally ill, and others prohibited from possessing firearms. The bill was signed into law by President George W. Bush in January of 2008.

In June of 2008, the United States Supreme Court upheld the verdict of a lower court ruling the D.C. handgun ban unconstitutional in the landmark case District of Columbia v. Heller.

Gun control advocates had high hopes that reform efforts would have increased momentum in the wake of two tragic events that rocked the nation.
In January of 2011, Jared Loughner opened fire at an event held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), killing six and injuring 13, including the congresswoman. Resulting attempts to push gun control legislation proved fruitless, with neither proposal even succeeding in gaining a single GOP co-sponsor.
More than a year after that shooting, Florida teenager Trayvon Martin was gunned down by George Zimmerman in an event that some believed would bring increased scrutiny on the nation's Stand Your Ground laws. While there has been increasing discussion over the nature of those statutes, lawmakers were quick to concede that they had little faith the event would effectively spur gun control legislation, thanks largely to the National Rifle Association's vast lobbying power.
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In July of 2012, a heavily armed gunman opened fire on theatergoers attending a midnight premiere of the final film of the latest Batman trilogy, killing 12 and wounding scores more.
The suspect, James Eagan Holmes, allegedly carried out the act with a number of handguns, as well as an AR-15 assault rifle with a 100-round drum magazine.
Some lawmakers used the incident, which took place in a state with some of the laxest gun control laws, to bring forth legislation designed to place increased regulations on access to such weapons, but many observers, citing previous experience, were hesitant to say that they would be able to overcome the power of the National Rifle Association and Washington gun lobby.

On August 5, 2012, white supremacist Wade Michael Page opened fire on a Sikhs gathered at a temple in Oak Creek, Wis., killing six and wounding four more before turning the gun on himself.